Vehicular collision avoidance system

ABSTRACT

A vehicular collision avoidance system includes a remote communicator disposed exterior and remote from the vehicle and operable to communicate information regarding location and motion of the remote communicator relative to the vehicle. A receiver at the vehicle receives a communication from the remote communicator, and a control at the vehicle includes a processor that processes information communicated by the remote communicator and received at the receiver. The control, responsive to processing communicated information, determines the location and motion of the remote communicator relative to the vehicle. A side sensing device is disposed at a side of the vehicle and operable to capture data, which is processed to determine approach of the remote communicator to the vehicle. Data captured by the side sensing device and information communicated by the remote communicator are processed at the control to determine a potential collision between the remote communicator and the vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/632,755, filed Jun. 26, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,316,571,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/636,503,filed Mar. 3, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,688,199, which claims the filingbenefits of U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 62/001,796, filedMay 22, 2014, and Ser. No. 61/947,638, filed Mar. 4, 2014, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a vehicle alert system for avehicle and, more particularly, to a vehicle alert system that providesan alert to the driver or passenger of a vehicle when a pedestrian orbicyclist is approaching the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication systems for vehicles may provide for communication betweenvehicles and/or between a vehicle and a remote server. Examples of suchsystems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,580,795, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Communication systemsfor vehicles may provide for communication between vehicles and/orbetween a vehicle and a remote server.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a communication and/or alert system orimaging system for a vehicle that communicates with a mobile device ofpedestrians or bicyclists to determine proximity of the pedestrian orbicyclist to the vehicle so that the driver of the vehicle may bealerted as to the presence or approach of a pedestrian or bicyclist,such as if the driver or passenger of the vehicle is about to open avehicle door into the path of the pedestrian or bicyclist. The locationand motion information pertaining to the pedestrian or bicyclist iscommunicated to the vehicle system via a radio device or communicationdevice (such as a smart phone or other mobile device, such as a devicehaving a dedicated short range communication transmitter or transceiver)of the pedestrian or bicyclist. A receiver at the vehicle (such as adedicated short range communication receiver or radio) receives thecommunication and a processor (such as a vehicle-based processor at thevehicle and in communication with the receiver) processes theinformation to determine if a bicycle or pedestrian is approaching thevehicle in a manner that may lead to a potential hazard if an occupantof the vehicle opens a door.

Optionally, the system may utilize one or more cameras (preferably oneor more CMOS cameras) to capture image data representative of imagesexterior of the vehicle, and provides an alert to the driver or occupantof the vehicle. Optionally, if the vehicle is equipped with an exteriorcamera and a dedicated short range communication (DSRC) radio, then thisdata could be fused or combined to get more reliable informationpertaining to the presence and movement of the pedestrian or bicyclist.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view and schematic of the bicyclist detectionsystem of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of the bicyclist detection system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a radio communication link with a smart phonehaving an app for communicating to a vehicle equipped with the detectionsystem of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of the communication process of the system of thepresent invention, using the separate radio for the communication;

FIG. 5 is a schematic of the radio of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic of another radio with a processor and Bluetoothinterface in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a mobile device having an app thatincludes a V2X radio and that processes data received from the radio inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic of the mobile device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic of a home communication system of the presentinvention, which is operable to track a child at or near the home;

FIG. 9A is a schematic of the devices and communication links of thesystem of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 9B is a block diagram of the child monitoring and alert process ofthe home communication system of FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A vehicle alert system and/or driver assist system and/or objectdetection system operates to communicate with a mobile device of apedestrian or bicyclist or the like to determine proximity and/orapproach of the pedestrian or bicyclist relative to the equippedvehicle. The system may include one or more cameras that are operable tocapture images exterior of the vehicle and may process the capturedimage data to display images and to detect objects at or near thevehicle and in the predicted path of the vehicle, such as to assist adriver of the vehicle in maneuvering the vehicle in a rearwarddirection. The system may include an image processor or image processingsystem that is operable to receive image data from one or more camerasand provide an output to a display device for displaying imagesrepresentative of the captured image data. The processor may comprise avehicle-based processor or may be a remote processor or processingsystem. Optionally, the system may provide a top down or bird's eye orsurround view display and may provide a displayed image that isrepresentative of the subject vehicle, and optionally with the displayedimage being customized to at least partially correspond to the actualsubject vehicle.

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, a vehicle 10 includes an alert system 12 that includes acommunication device (such as a DSRC radio 40 a) at a vehicle and acontrol 44 responsive to the DSRC radio 40 a (FIGS. 1 and 2). The DSRCradio 40 a receives a communication from a mobile device 41 and/or amobile DSRC radio 40 b, wherein the control processes the receivedcommunication information to determine if the mobile device and/ormobile DSRC radio are approaching the subject vehicle in a manner thatmay lead to a collision with the vehicle door if the door were opened,as discussed below. The system thus determines when a bicycle rider 42or the like is approaching alongside the vehicle, such as when thevehicle is being parked, and alerts the driver of a potential collisionso that the driver will not open the door of the vehicle into the pathof the bicycle rider, as also discussed below.

There are several people are killed each year due to collisions betweena vehicle door and a bicycle, such as when an occupant of a vehicleopens a vehicle door into the path of a bicyclist and the bicycle rideris tripped out of the bicycle and falls onto the road. When the vehicleis parallel parked in the street, in many countries, the bicycle needsto share the parking space or travel next to the parallel parkedvehicle. In many scenarios the driver (or passenger) in the vehicle maynot be able to see the bicycle traveling towards the vehicle (such asfrom rearward of the vehicle and along a side of the vehicle) and he orshe may open the door and cause a collision of the door with the bicycleif the door is opened in the path of travel of the bicycle and thebicyclist does not have time to react to avoid the collision (or cannotswerve to avoid the door due to other traffic on the road at which thesubject vehicle is parked).

The present invention provides a communication system that communicatesto the vehicle system information indicative of the presence or approachof a pedestrian or bicycle at or near the vehicle. If the bicycle rideris equipped with a DSRC radio, collision concerns may be resolved. TheDSRC radio could be made very low cost by interfacing with a mobiledevice of the pedestrian or bicyclist (such as a smart phone or thelike) and utilizing the computation power and GPS capabilities of themobile device.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the subject vehicle (SV) is equipped with aDSRC radio 40 a and it receives the information from the bicycle rider42 (such as from a mobile device or smart phone 41 of the bicycle rider,which may include a DSRC communication link, or such as from a separateDSRC radio 40 b of the bicycle rider) heading towards the SV. Using thisinformation, a door open protection algorithm of a processor or control44 of the SV is operable to compute the time to collision (TTC) and toalert the driver or occupant (via an alert system or warning system 45of the vehicle) when he or she tries to open the door. Optionally, ifthe TTC is within a certain threshold, the system may inhibit the driveror passenger from opening the door (such as via a door control device orsystem 46 or the like) for a certain period of time and may also alertthe driver/passenger about the bicycle hazard, such as by using a humanmachine interface (HMI) 47 of the vehicle.

If the SV is equipped with a side sensing device, such as a camera orradar or the like (such as a camera 43 at the exterior rearview mirrorof the vehicle), the DSRC data communicated and the side camera/radardata captured may be fused or combined to provide a better confidence ofa positive determination (so as to limit or reduce false alerts whenthere is no bicycle present or when there is little or no likelihood ofcollision).

Because the mobile device 48 (such as a smart phone or tablet or thelike) typically has GPS and gyro capabilities (determining location andmotion and acceleration and orientation of the mobile device), anapplication may be developed that may be loaded onto the mobile deviceto configure and control the DSRC radio (such as shown in FIGS. 3-6).The entire protocol layer could be implemented in the mobile device anda very low cost processer may be used in the DSRC radio for the mobiledevice interface.

Optionally, and such as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a DSRC radio may beincluded as an integral part of the mobile device 51 to achieveeffective pedestrian and/or bicycle detection and protection, such as onpublic roads in bad weather conditions and/or cross traffic situations.

The mobile device 48 and communication system or links may utilize v2vor v2x communication links or systems to communicate the information(such as location information and motion information, such as speed anddirection of travel of the bicycle) to the vehicle system, whereby thesystem may determine if there is a risk of collision with the vehicledoor if the vehicle door is opened. For example, and such as shown inFIGS. 3-6, the mobile device 48 may communicate with a v2x radio 49 orthe like. The mobile device may communicate with a v2x radio 49 a (FIG.5) via a wired connection or wired communication link 50 a or maycommunicate with a v2x radio 49 b (FIG. 6) via a wireless or BLUETOOTH®communication link 40 b or the like. Thus, a person walking or ridingtheir bicycle along the side of the road may carry their smart phone orthe like, which communicates their location and movement information(such as via a short range communication protocol) to vehiclecommunication systems that are in the near vicinity or proximity of theperson, whereby the communication systems of the vehicles process thecommunicated information to determine if the person is at or approachinga door of the respective vehicle and thus to determine if the personrepresents a potentially hazardous condition if an occupant of thevehicle were to open a vehicle door. The system may be furtherresponsive to one or more accessories or systems of the vehicle, such asa door lock system or the like, and may generate the alert at least inpart responsive to a lock condition of the doors (i.e., if the doors arelocked, the system may not generate an alert, since the doors are notbeing opened). The communication systems may utilize aspects of thesystems described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,580,795 and/or U.S. PublicationNos. US-2012-0218412 and/or US-2012-0062743, published Mar. 15, 2012,and/or U.S. patent applications, Ser. No. 14/169,329, filed Jan. 31,2014 and published Aug. 7, 2014 as U.S. Publication No. US-2014-0218529,Ser. No. 14/519,469, filed Oct. 21, 2014 and published May 7, 2015 asU.S. Publication No. US-2015-0124096, and/or Ser. No. 14/303,695, filedJun. 13, 2014 and published Dec. 25, 2014 as U.S. Publication No.US-2014-0375476, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Optionally, a communication system of the present invention may utilizea smart phone and radio communication links to track a child at or neara home. At present, child tracking devices are available in the marketbut are expensive and use GSM communications to track the child, such aswhen the child is playing around the house. Using a DSRC link, thepresent invention may provide tracking of a child up to around 1000meters range for little or no additional cost. At present many homes areequipped with a WiFi/IR enabled remote controlled devices to open thegarage door from a vehicle. The system of the present invention may usethe DSRC radio installed in the home (for the garage door openingfunction) for other purposes.

For example, and such as shown in FIGS. 9, 9A and 9B, a DSRC radio 53installed in the home 57 may be multi purposed to track the child aswell as open the garage door from the vehicle. The home owner may beable to authenticate and open the garage door by actuating a garage dooropener 55 using an HMI interface 56 in the vehicle. A small portableDSRC radio 52 with a GPS wearable device may be attached to a child andthe small portable DSRC radio will keep transmitting the GPS position inreal time and the DSRC radio 53 installed at the home receives thismessage and forwards it to a mobile device or smart phone 54 using aBLUETOOTH® link or the like. The mobile app process this data andenables the user to see the position of the child on the map in realtime. The mobile app may also provide or generate an alert to the parentif the child tracking device goes out of range or stop transmitting.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the system generates child location information andcommunicates, via the DSRC link, the child location information to theDSRC radio located in the house. The app (on the mobile device or smartphone) monitors the child location information and generates an alert ifthe system determines that the child moves outside of a boundary region(with the boundary region being established as a predetermined orselected distance from the home or DSRC radio or mobile device or viaselected geographical coordinates (such as the coordinates of a yardboundary or the like at the home) or other determined or selectedboundaries or distances, depending on the particular application.Optionally, the DSRC radio 53 may be integrated into the mobile device54, whereby the monitoring and alert system monitors the location of thechild and provides an alert when the child moves outside of a distancerange from the mobile device, which may be useful in situations where aparent and child go to a park or other location remote from the home.

The present invention thus may utilize a home communication system fortracking a child at or near the home and for providing updated or realtime information to the user or parent about the child's location, suchas via a communication to the user's or parent's smart phone oroptionally via a communication to a telematics system of the vehicle orthe like. Thus, a parent may be able to monitor the location of theirchild at or near the home and may be alerted when the child movesoutside of a predetermined range from the home, such as for situationswhen the parent is inside the home (or briefly away from the home) andnot watching the child directly.

In the systems described above that utilize a camera, the camera orsensor may comprise any suitable camera or sensor. The system mayinclude an image processor operable to process image data captured bythe camera or cameras, such as for detecting objects or other vehiclesor pedestrians or the like in the field of view of one or more of thecameras. For example, the image processor may comprise an EYEQ2 or EYEQ3image processing chip available from Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd.of Jerusalem, Israel, and may include object detection software (such asthe types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,855,755; 7,720,580 and/or7,038,577, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties), and may analyze image data to detect vehicles and/or otherobjects. Responsive to such image processing, and when an object orother vehicle is detected, the system may generate an alert to thedriver of the vehicle and/or may generate an overlay at the displayedimage to highlight or enhance display of the detected object or vehicle,in order to enhance the driver's awareness of the detected object orvehicle or hazardous condition during a driving maneuver of the equippedvehicle.

For example, the vision system and/or processing and/or camera and/orcircuitry may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,005,974;5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,796,094; 5,949,331; 6,222,447; 6,302,545;6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202; 6,201,642; 6,690,268;6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452; 6,822,563; 6,891,563;6,946,978; 7,859,565; 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 6,636,258; 7,145,519;7,161,616; 7,230,640; 7,248,283; 7,295,229; 7,301,466; 7,592,928;7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 6,882,287; 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772,and/or International Publication Nos. WO 2011/028686; WO 2010/099416; WO2012/061567; WO 2012/068331; WO 2012/075250; WO 2012/103193; WO2012/0116043; WO 2012/0145313; WO 2012/0145501; WO 2012/145818; WO2012/145822; WO 2012/158167; WO 2012/075250; WO 2012/0116043; WO2012/0145501; WO 2012/154919; WO 2013/019707; WO 2013/016409; WO2013/019795; WO 2013/067083; WO 2013/070539; WO 2013/043661; WO2013/048994; WO 2013/063014, WO 2013/081984; WO 2013/081985; WO2013/074604; WO 2013/086249; WO 2013/103548; WO 2013/109869; WO2013/123161; WO 2013/126715; WO 2013/043661; WO 2013/158592 and/or WO2014/204794, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties. The system may communicate with other communicationsystems via any suitable means, such as by utilizing aspects of thesystems described in International Publication Nos. WO 2010/144900; WO2013/043661 and/or WO 2013/081985, and/or U.S. Publication No.US-2012-0062743, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Optionally, the vision system (utilizing a forward facing camera and arearward facing camera and other cameras disposed at the vehicle withexterior fields of view) may be part of or may provide a display of atop-down view or birds-eye view system of the vehicle or a surround viewat the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the vision systemsdescribed International Publication Nos. WO 2010/099416; WO 2011/028686;WO 2012/075250; WO 2013/019795; WO 2012-075250; WO 2012/145822; WO2013/081985; WO 2013/086249 and/or WO 2013/109869, and/or U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/333,337, filed Dec. 21, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.9,264,672, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments canbe carried out without departing from the principles of the invention,which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appendedclaims, as interpreted according to the principles of patent lawincluding the doctrine of equivalents.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicular collision avoidance system,said vehicular collision avoidance system comprising: a remotecommunicator disposed exterior and remote from a vehicle, said remotecommunicator operable to communicate information regarding location andmotion of said remote communicator relative to the vehicle; a receiverat the vehicle that receives a communication from said remotecommunicator; a control disposed at the vehicle, wherein said controlcomprises a processor that processes information (i) communicated bysaid remote communicator disposed exterior and remote from the vehicleand (ii) received at said receiver at the vehicle; wherein said control,responsive to processing at said control of information communicated bysaid remote communicator and received at said receiver, determines oneselected from the group consisting of (i) location of said remotecommunicator relative to the vehicle and (ii) motion of said remotecommunicator relative to the vehicle; a side camera disposed at a sideof the vehicle and operable to capture image data, wherein image datacaptured by said side camera is processed at said control to determineapproach of said remote communicator to the vehicle from rearward of thevehicle and at the side of the vehicle at which said side camera isdisposed; and wherein image data captured by said side camera andinformation communicated by said remote communicator and received atsaid receiver are processed at said control to determine a potentialcollision between said remote communicator and the vehicle.
 2. Thevehicular collision avoidance system of claim 1, wherein said remotecommunicator comprises a dedicated short range communication device. 3.The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim 2, wherein said remotecommunicator comprises a mobile processor operable to determine locationof said remote communicator and motion of said remote communicator. 4.The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim 1, wherein saidvehicular collision avoidance system controls a system of the vehicleresponsive to determination of the potential collision between saidremote communicator and the vehicle.
 5. The vehicular collisionavoidance system of claim 4, wherein opening of a vehicle door of thevehicle is inhibited responsive to determination of the potentialcollision between said remote communicator and the vehicle.
 6. Thevehicular collision avoidance system of claim 4, wherein location ofsaid remote communicator is determined by a geographical positioningsystem.
 7. The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim 6, whereinsaid remote communicator receives information communicated by a homemonitoring device.
 8. The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim7, wherein information communicated by said home monitoring devicecomprises information pertaining to a location of a second remotecommunicator at or near said home monitoring device.
 9. The vehicularcollision avoidance system of claim 1, wherein said remote communicatorcomprises a smart phone.
 10. The vehicular collision avoidance system ofclaim 1, wherein said side camera is part of an exterior mirror assemblyof the vehicle.
 11. The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim 1,wherein said remote communicator is part of a v2v communication system.12. A vehicular collision avoidance system, said vehicular collisionavoidance system comprising: a remote communicator disposed exterior andremote from a vehicle, said remote communicator operable to communicateinformation regarding location and motion of said remote communicatorrelative to the vehicle; a receiver at the vehicle that receives acommunication from said remote communicator; a control disposed at thevehicle, wherein said control comprises a processor that processesinformation (i) communicated by said remote communicator disposedexterior and remote from the vehicle and (ii) received at said receiverat the vehicle; wherein said control, responsive to processing at saidcontrol of information communicated by said remote communicator andreceived at said receiver, determines at least one selected from thegroup consisting of (i) location of said remote communicator relative tothe vehicle and (ii) motion of said remote communicator relative to thevehicle; a side radar sensor disposed at a side of the vehicle andoperable to capture radar data, wherein radar data captured by said sideradar sensor is processed at said control to determine approach of saidremote communicator to the vehicle from rearward of the vehicle and atthe side of the vehicle at which said side radar sensor is disposed; andwherein radar data captured by said side radar sensor and informationcommunicated by said remote communicator and received at said receiverare processed at said control to determine a potential collision betweensaid remote communicator and the vehicle.
 13. The vehicular collisionavoidance system of claim 12, wherein said remote communicator comprisesa dedicated short range communication device.
 14. The vehicularcollision avoidance system of claim 13, wherein said remote communicatorcomprises a mobile processor operable to determine location of saidremote communicator and motion of said remote communicator.
 15. Thevehicular collision avoidance system of claim 12, wherein said vehicularcollision avoidance system controls a system of the vehicle responsiveto determination of the potential collision between said remotecommunicator and the vehicle.
 16. The vehicular collision avoidancesystem of claim 15, wherein opening of a vehicle door of the vehicle isinhibited responsive to determination of the potential collision betweensaid remote communicator and the vehicle.
 17. The vehicular collisionavoidance system of claim 16, wherein location of said remotecommunicator is determined by a geographical positioning system.
 18. Thevehicular collision avoidance system of claim 17, wherein said remotecommunicator receives information communicated by a home monitoringdevice.
 19. The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim 18,wherein information communicated by said home monitoring devicecomprises information pertaining to a location of a second remotecommunicator at or near said home monitoring device.
 20. The vehicularcollision avoidance system of claim 12, wherein said remote communicatorcomprises a smart phone.
 21. The vehicular collision avoidance system ofclaim 12, wherein said side radar sensor is part of an exterior mirrorassembly of the vehicle.
 22. The vehicular collision avoidance system ofclaim 12, wherein said remote communicator is part of a v2vcommunication system.
 23. A vehicular collision avoidance system, saidvehicular collision avoidance system comprising: a remote communicatordisposed exterior and remote from a vehicle, said remote communicatoroperable to communicate information regarding location and motion ofsaid remote communicator relative to the vehicle; a receiver at thevehicle that receives a communication from said remote communicator; acontrol disposed at the vehicle, wherein said control comprises aprocessor that processes information (i) communicated by said remotecommunicator disposed exterior and remote from the vehicle and (ii)received at said receiver at the vehicle; wherein said control,responsive to processing at said control of information communicated bysaid remote communicator and received at said receiver, determines atleast one selected from the group consisting of (i) location of saidremote communicator relative to the vehicle and (ii) motion of saidremote communicator relative to the vehicle; a side sensing devicedisposed at a side of the vehicle and operable to capture data, whereindata captured by said side sensing device is processed at said controlto determine approach of said remote communicator to the vehicle fromrearward of the vehicle and at the side of the vehicle at which saidside sensing device is disposed; wherein said side sensing devicecomprises one selected from the group consisting of (i) a side cameradisposed at the side of the vehicle and operable to capture image dataand (ii) a side radar sensor disposed at a side of the vehicle andoperable to capture radar data; wherein data captured by said sidesensing device and information communicated by said remote communicatorand received at said receiver are processed at said control to determinea potential collision between said remote communicator and the vehicle;and wherein said vehicular collision avoidance system controls a systemof the vehicle responsive to determination of the potential collisionbetween said remote communicator and the vehicle being above a thresholdlevel.
 24. The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim 23, whereinsaid remote communicator comprises a dedicated short range communicationdevice.
 25. The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim 23,wherein said remote communicator comprises a mobile processor operableto determine location of said remote communicator and motion of saidremote communicator.
 26. The vehicular collision avoidance system ofclaim 23, wherein opening of a vehicle door of the vehicle is inhibitedresponsive to determination of the potential collision between saidremote communicator and the vehicle.
 27. The vehicular collisionavoidance system of claim 23, wherein location of said remotecommunicator is determined by a geographical positioning system.
 28. Thevehicular collision avoidance system of claim 27, wherein said remotecommunicator receives information communicated by a home monitoringdevice.
 29. The vehicular collision avoidance system of claim 28,wherein information communicated by said home monitoring devicecomprises information pertaining to a location of a second remotecommunicator at or near said home monitoring device.
 30. The vehicularcollision avoidance system of claim 23, wherein said remote communicatorcomprises a smart phone.
 31. The vehicular collision avoidance system ofclaim 23, wherein said remote communicator is part of a v2vcommunication system.